1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to food smoking apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for converting an enclosable food cooker having a food supporting surface into a food smoker.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is notoriously well known that when certain types of food such as fish or meat are subjected to a smoke filled environment for a lengthy period of time, a tasteful aromatic flavor is imparted to the food which cannot be accurately immitated by the application of any known combination of food seasonings. Unfortunately, known food smoking apparatus suffer from numerous inadequacies including not only bulk and complexity but also substantial initial equipment expense. One solution for the consumer is to purchase pre-smoked food. This solution, however, leaves the consumer unable to control either the strength of the smoked flavor imparted to the food or the flavor subtleties produced by selecting the type of smoke in which the food is treated. A further drawback to the purchase of pre-smoked food is the greater cost (sometimes substantial) as compared to the cost of the same food sold in an unsmoked form. Accordingly, there is a need for apparatus which the consumer can purchase inexpensively and use to smoke his own food.
One attempt to meet this demand is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,526 wherein a smoker is illustrated including a specialized container within which a drip catching tray is supported between smoke producing material and a food supporting rack. However, temperatures in excess of the optimal food smoking temperature may result in this type of device, whereby the smoked food may become overcooked and/or excessively dehydrated.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,307 another smoker design is disclosed which attempts to solve the dehydration problem by supplying the smoke under high pressure to quickly drive the smoke into the food before the intense heat present in the vessel has had a chance to dry out the food. While devices of this type may solve the problem of food dehydration, the rapid smoke drive-in deprives the food of the full natural smoke flavor which results from a slower smoking process. Moreover, this high vapor pressure process requires a special pressure tight heavy walled container which significantly adds to the initial equipment cost.
Consumer demand for foods having a smoked flavor may explain, in large measure, the popularity of conventional back-yard grills. Food cooked on such grills retain a partially smoked flavor but the strength of such flavor cannot generally be controlled since the cooking time controls the time during which the food is subjected to smoke treatment. Many charcoal grills are manufactured to be substantially fully enclosable and could thus serve to concentrate smoke from smoke emitting materials placed on top of the ignited charcoal. However, when substantially fully enclosed, such grills tend not only to retain smoke but also to retain and concentrate the heat emitted by the ignited charcoal thus resulting in dehydrating and/or overcooking of the food. A need, therefore, exists for a simple, inexpensive apparatus which a consumer can use to prepare smoked food at home in accordance with his own preference for strength and subtleties of flavor.